Method and device for marking pallets

ABSTRACT

A method for marking a pallet loaded with stacked goods includes fastening at least one marking element having information relevant to the marking to an intermediate layer, and disposing the intermediate layer between two layers of stacked goods during loading of the pallet. The marking element is fastened to the intermediate layer by a positive connection created by deforming the intermediate layer and the marking element.

I. FIELD OF APPLICATION

The present invention concerns a device as well as a method for the marking of pallets and especially for the marking of pallets loaded with stacked goods, wherein a marking element containing information relevant to the marking is fastened to an intermediate layer, which is inserted between two layers of stacked goods when the pallet is being loaded.

II. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

When stacked goods are placed on pallets it is usually necessary to provide them with a marking for purposes of further handling of the loaded pallet. The marking can contain, for example, the type of stacked products, the manufacturer, the addressees, the weight of the pallet, as well as other information which may be meaningful to the handling of the pallet.

Various techniques are known from the prior art for placing such a marking element on a pallet.

For example, it is possible to secure the marking element to the outside of the pallet only after the already loaded pallet has been wrapped with film, the so-called stretching, i.e., in this case it is secured to the film. This is usually done by using self-adhesive marking elements. The drawbacks of this method are that, first, the marking element can become damaged and thus illegible during the transport of the loaded pallet, and second, once the film is removed there is no more information available as to the pallet. Also, self-adhesive marking elements involve correspondingly high added expenses and are usually limited to a maximum format size of DIN A5.

Finally, the labeling systems used in this context also entail high costs, so that generally a single common labeling system is used for several palletting cells. Thus, the marking cannot take place directly in the respective palletting cell. Instead, the already loaded but not yet marked pallets must be transported from the individual palletting cells to the labeling system. This, on the one hand, entails additional time and expense, and on the other hand there is a risk of mix-up on the way to the labeling system, since the pallets have not yet been marked.

Another option for the marking of a pallet is to apply the marking element prior to the stretch wrapping of the pallet. To avoid damaging the stacked goods, the marking element in this case is usually attached to an intermediate layer of the pallet. Intermediate layers are used in the loading of the pallet to heighten the stability of the pallet build-up and are inserted between predetermined layers of stacked goods. Normally, such intermediate layers consist of cardboard, paper or corrugated board, but the exact properties of the intermediate layer might depend on the stacked goods being palletted.

In the methods known from the prior art for this, the corresponding marking elements are fastened manually to an intermediate layer of the pallet after the completion of the build-up of a pallet. Thus, here as well no marking of the pallets can occur directly in the palletting cell. Consequently, the aforementioned drawbacks of additional expense and the risk of mix-up of nonmarked pallets also exist in this case due to the transport of the pallets to the place where the marking is ultimately done.

Furthermore, auxiliary means such as glue, adhesive tape, tacker staples or the like are generally used in the manual fastening of the marking element.

But the use of such auxiliary means has substantial drawbacks. Thus, on the one hand, the auxiliary means generate additional costs. Furthermore, the intermediate layers after the pallet is broken down are recycled on account of their relatively high value. In this case, the auxiliary means used to fasten the marking element detract from the quality of the intermediate layer, since traces of plastic remain on the intermediate layer, for example, or the intermediate layer is damaged by tacking on the marking element or removing the tacker staples. But intermediate layers with such a diminished quality are not easily sorted out, due to the high cost, and instead they are recycled as much as possible. In this case, the damage may then cause problems when handling the intermediate layers during the palletting process.

To avoid these drawbacks, it would also be conceivable to simply introduce the particular marking element between an intermediate layer and the stacked goods lying on top of this, thereby bringing about a fastening by friction.

But this would require lifting up the goods already stacked on the intermediate layer, in order to insert the marking element. Neither is it ensured that the marking element is held sufficiently securely during the further handling of the pallet, such as the stretch wrapping, due to the fastening based solely on a frictional connection.

III. PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION a) Technical Problem

Therefore, the problem of the present invention is to create a method or a device for the marking of a pallet loaded with stacked goods, which

ensures a reliable fastening of the corresponding marking element to the pallet,

enables a problem-free recycling of intermediate layers, the use of large-format labels, and a marking directly in the palletting cell, and

is characterized by low acquisition and operational costs.

b) Solution of the Problem

This problem is solved by the method and the device with the features of claim 1 and claim 14, respectively. Advantageous embodiments are shown in the subclaims.

In the method according to the invention for the marking of a pallet loaded with stacked goods, at least one marking element having information relevant to the marking is fastened to an intermediate layer. This intermediate layer is introduced between two layers of stacked goods as is customary in the loading of a pallet. According to the invention, the marking element is fastened to the intermediate layer by means of a positive connection created by deforming the intermediate layer and the marking element without using any connecting means.

Since a positive connection, unlike a frictional connection, is produced by the interlocking of the two mating items, neither can the mating items be detached when the force transmission is absent or interrupted, so that a reliable fastening of the marking element to the intermediate layer is assured.

In this regard, the device of the invention for marking a pallet loaded with stacked goods comprises fastening means by which the necessary deformation to produce the positive connection between the intermediate layer and the marking element is achieved.

Contrary to a riveting or a tacking, no additional means of connection are needed for a positive connection produced by a deformation of the elements involved. To remove the marking element fastened to the intermediate layer, it is therefore only necessary to abolish the positive connection by applying a corresponding force. Any damage which this causes to the intermediate layer is such as is deemed quite acceptable in the context of a recycling.

The positive connection produced according to the invention is preferably done by a pressing or crimping of the marking element with the intermediate layer. The fastening means used can be preferably a customary and ordinary crimping pliers, in whose open position the intermediate layer and the connection element are placed one on top of the other and then pressed or crimped together by actuating the pliers. Depending on the shape of the pliers bit, a sufficiently large surface of the two materials can be deformed to produce the positive connection of the invention.

Preferably the fastening means are pneumatically operated, but alternatively a different type of actuation is also conceivable, such as hydraulically or otherwise mechanically controlled.

In one preferred embodiment, the actuation of the fastening means could be automatically triggered as a function of the positions of the intermediate layer and the marking element, and these positions could be detected by appropriate sensors, e.g., optically.

Since the fastening method of the invention is essentially independent of the material of the marking element, so long as it is adequately pressable/deformable, one can use, as the marking element, a sheet of paper or a cardboard, for example, but also a marking element consisting of plastic. In particular, a use of marking elements based on transponders would also be conceivable, wherein the corresponding electronic components could be introduced in to a plastic casing, which then also serves for the fastening to the intermediate layer according to the invention in a specially provided region.

Preferably, the marking element is fastened to an intermediate layer situated essentially in the middle region in the ready stacked pallet in terms of the height of the pallet. This has the advantage of guaranteeing a simple access to the information of the marking element.

In one preferred embodiment of the invented method, the marking element is fastened to the intermediate layer before the intermediate layer is introduced between two layers of stacked goods on the pallet. This means that an automated marking within a palletting cell is possible, in which the pallet is usually built up by making use of corresponding robots or other automated elements.

A fastening of the marking element to the intermediate layer before the intermediate layer is inserted furthermore has the advantage that the position of the positive connection produced for the fastening according to the invention can be chosen such that the layer of stacked goods being built up directly on the intermediate layer covers the fastening position of the marking element. This has the advantage that the marking element is held between the intermediate layer and the stacked goods by the frictional force acting by virtue of the weight of the stacked goods, in addition to the positive connection produced according to the invention.

Advantageously at least two marking elements are fastened to a pallet being marked in the method of the invention, whose information is accessible from different sides of the pallet. This has the advantage that the marked pallet does not have to be placed in a special orientation in order to read the information.

The at least two marking elements in this case are preferably fastened to the same intermediate layer. This has the advantage in terms of method that only one intermediate layer has to be placed in a marking position during the loading of the pallet, to which the marking elements are fastened.

Since the positive connection is usually formed in the plane of the intermediate layer, it may occur, especially when using sufficiently rigid marking elements, that the marking element will stick out from the pallet, or the intermediate layer to which it is fastened. During the later stretch wrapping of the pallet, this might cause problems. Hence, in an especially preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, the marking element after being fastened to the intermediate layer is deformed such that it lies essentially perpendicular against the corresponding side surface of the pallet when the intermediate layer has been introduced into the pallet. For this, the marking element fastened to the intermediate layer can be moved against a guide edge, for example, which buckles or bends the marking element into the corresponding position.

In this context, it would also be conceivable, of course, to deform the marking element appropriately already before the fastening to the intermediate layer by buckling/bending and then fasten it in the deformed state to the intermediate layer.

The marking element could also be provided with a predetermined buckling/bending place in order to guarantee a simple and controlled buckling/bending. For this, the marking element could be provided at the relevant places with a prebreak, a perforation, an embossing, a grooving or the like.

However, when using slack-bending materials as the marking elements, such as paper, it is usually not necessary to deform the marking element after being fastened to the intermediate layer, since a position of the marking element lying essentially against the side surface of the pallet can be taken up automatically under the action of gravity.

The feeding of the marking element to the intermediate layer for the fastening to same can take please in several ways.

On the one hand, marking elements provided with appropriate information for a whole series of pallets can be prepared in advance and deposited in a stack, and then the marking element to be fastened to the respective pallet is singled out from the stack by an appropriate withdrawal device and fed for fastening to the intermediate layer.

For this, the device according to the invention comprises at least one magazine, in which the marking elements provided with the corresponding information are made ready in a stack. Furthermore, there is a withdrawal device present, being configured such that it can remove a single marking element from the magazine and feed it for fastening to the intermediate layer.

In the case of using conventional sheets of paper as the marking element, this could involve a traditional magazine, such as that of a copier or printer, with a corresponding decollating device. The marking elements previously created, preferably with a printer, are in this case simply placed in the corresponding magazine and fed singly to the marking device.

Alternatively it would be possible to provide a marking element with the appropriate information for the specific pallet being marked only just before it is fastened. In this case, the marking element will then be removed by a withdrawal device directly from the exit chute of the mechanism providing the marking element with the information and fed for fastening to the intermediate layer.

The withdrawal device could have a roller transport or the like, in order to make possible the delivery of the marking elements to a defined marking position where the fastening of the marking element takes place. A vacuum-based gripper system would also be conceivable for this.

If the marking element is a paperlike element, a printer could be used to place the corresponding information on the marking element, for example.

If transponders or RFID technology are used, a device appropriately programming the chip used or the electronic components used could be employed to place the appropriate information on the marking element.

Of course, it would also be conceivable to use marking elements which come from a roll and which are singled out by an appropriate singling device before being fed to the intermediate layer. In this case, predetermined breaking points could be present between the individual marking elements on the roll, such as perforations or the like, to facilitate the singling process.

If the stacked goods are products present in the form of flat pieces of material, such as unfolded paper boxes or the like, a sample of the stacked goods can be used as the marking element in one preferred embodiment of the invented method. It would thus be directly evident what kind of stacked goods the pallet contains.

Of course, it would also be conceivable in this case to fasten a sample of the stacked goods in addition to a marking element to the intermediate layer, and preferably the fastening of the sample occurs analogous to the fastening of the marking element according to the invention, i.e., by producing a positive connection between the sample and the intermediate layer.

In either case, the sample of stacked goods being fastened to the intermediate layer is not removed from the stacked goods of the ongoing palletting process, but instead prepared separately, for example, in a corresponding magazine.

To ensure a reliable holding of the marking element fastened to the intermediate layer, preferably a positive connection is produced between the intermediate layer and the marking element at least at two positions spaced apart from each other.

In this case, one can either use a corresponding number of fastening means, preferably crimping pliers, or when using only a single fastening means one changes the position of the positive connection by an appropriate changing of the relative position of the intermediate layer and the connection element with respect to the fastening means.

To guide the particular intermediate layer to a defined marking position where the marking element will be fastened, the device of the invention preferably comprises a feeding mechanism. Preferably, the feeding mechanism is formed essentially by the transport device generally used to transport the intermediate layer from a stockpile to the pallet being built up. If a marking element is supposed to be fastened to an intermediate layer transported by the transport device, the transport of the intermediate layer from the stockpile to the pallet will be taken through an additional position, the marking position, where the fastening means are located, and to which the marking element being attached is also delivered. After the fastening of the marking element to the intermediate layer, the latter is then transported by the transport device to the pallet. Palletting robots with appropriate grippers/suckers are normally used here as the transport device.

If the transport means grasp the intermediate layer in the middle and the intermediate layer does not have sufficient natural rigidity, it may happen that the intermediate layer will hang down at the edges during transport. In order to still achieve an accurate positioning of the intermediate layer at the marking position in this case, the device of the invention in a preferred embodiment has two guide elements spaced apart and converging in the direction of the marking position. Thanks to these guide elements, for example, in the form of baffle plates, the intermediate layer transported by the transport device can be oriented in vertical position as it moves toward the marking position.

The guide elements used for this are preferably configured so that they enable a problem-free fastening of the marking element to the intermediate layer in the marking position. For this purpose, the guide elements can have recesses or cutouts, for example, by which the respective fastening means can engage with the combination of marking element and intermediate layer arranged one on top of the other.

Preferably, the marking element is arranged above the intermediate layer during the fastening.

C) SAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

One embodiment of the invention is described more closely hereafter as an example, using the figures. These show:

FIG. 1, a top view of a palletting cell with one embodiment of the device of the invention;

FIG. 2, a perspective view of one embodiment of the device of the invention;

FIG. 3, a top view of one embodiment of the device of the invention; and

FIG. 4, a side view of one embodiment of the device of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a top view of a palletting cell 1 with a device 10 according to the invention for marking a pallet 5 being loaded with stacked goods 3. The goods 3 being stacked on the pallet 5 being loaded are fed to the palletting cell 1 by a conveyor belt 2 in the feed direction indicated by the arrow Z.

In the palletting cell 1 there is present a transport device 9, which in the present example is configured as a palletting robot. The transport device 9 each time takes one pallet 5 to be loaded from the pallet stockpile 4 and transports it to the palletting position P on the conveyor belt 6.

Finished loaded pallets leave the palletting cell in the exit direction indicated by the arrow A. Usually the fully loaded pallets leaving the palletting cell 1 are then wrapped with film (“stretch wrapped”) in a further process step.

At predetermined intervals, the transport device 9 picks up an intermediate layer from a stockpile 7 arranged in the palletting cell 1, takes it to the palletting position P and lays it down on a completed layer of stacked goods 3. After this, the stacking of the goods 3 continues, so that the corresponding intermediate layer is ultimately arranged between two layers of goods 3 stacked on top of each other.

If a marking element is required to be fastened to the intermediate layer 8 picked up by the transport device 9, the transport device 9 feeds the intermediate layer 8 to the marking before being put down at the palletting position P of the invented device 10.

Only after the fastening of the marking element to the intermediate layer 8 by means of a positive connection according to the invention is it taken by the transport device 9 to the palletting position P and set down on the corresponding layer of stacked goods 3.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the device 10 according to the invention for the marking of pallets 5 comprises two symmetrically arranged fastening means 12, which in the present example are formed by traditional crimping pliers. Furthermore, the device 10 comprises a magazine 11 which, as can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, can be pulled out from the device 10 sideways for filling it with a stack 15 of marking elements.

In the present example, the individual marking elements are traditional sheets of paper, which were imprinted with the respective information in a preceding step.

A withdrawal device 13 removes the uppermost marking element from the stack 15 of marking elements during the operation of the device 10 and takes this to the marking position K. The magazine 11 and the withdrawal device 13 here can be a customary sheet intake for a printer or copier, by which the marking elements arranged in the magazine 11 are pulled off separately.

In FIGS. 2 to 4, the intermediate layer 8 on which the corresponding marking element is to be fastened is shown in the marking position K, to which it has been taken by the transport device 9.

A correct orientation of the intermediate layer 8 in vertical respect is ensured by the two baffle plates 14. These baffle plates 14 are arranged so that the distance between their inner surfaces decreases toward the marking position K. At the same time, they have cutouts at their sides to make possible a fastening of the marking element to the intermediate layer 8 located in the marking position K by the crimping pliers 12.

Once the intermediate layer 8 and the marking element being fastened to it are situated one on top of the other in the marking position K, the two crimping pliers 12 are actuated. In the present case, this is done by means of a pneumatic actuating device 16. The marking element is arranged above the intermediate layer 8 during the crimping.

By actuating the crimping pliers 12, the intermediate layer 8 and the marking element being fastened to it are pressed/crimped together, so that the resulting deformation of the two parts forms a positive connection in the sense of the invention.

The actuating of the crimping pliers 12 can be fully automatic, the correct positioning of the intermediate layer 8 and the marking element being fastened to it in the marking position K being detected by means of a sensor, for example.

In the depicted embodiment of the invention, it would also be conceivable to not only fasten a marking element to the lengthwise side L of the intermediate layer 8, as depicted in FIGS. 2 to 4, but also to the transverse side Q of the intermediate layer 8. For this, it would only be necessary for the transport device 9 to remove the intermediate layer 8 from the device 10, rotate it by 90 degrees, and take it back to the marking position K of the device 10.

Paper sheets of format DIN A4 and DIN A3 are shown as possible marking elements in the present sample embodiment in FIG. 3.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   -   1 palletting cell     -   2 stacked goods conveyor belt     -   3 stacked goods     -   4 pallet stockpile     -   5 pallet being loaded     -   6 pallet conveyor belt     -   7 intermediate layer stockpile     -   8 intermediate layer being marked     -   9 transport device     -   10 device for marking     -   11 magazine     -   12 fastening means     -   13 withdrawal device     -   14 baffle plate     -   15 stack of marking elements     -   16 pneumatic actuating device     -   Z stacked goods feed direction     -   A pallet exit direction     -   P palletting position     -   K marking position     -   L lengthwise side of 8     -   Q transverse side of 8 

1. A method for marking a pallet loaded with stacked goods, comprising: fastening at least one marking element having information relevant to the marking to an intermediate layer, and disposing the intermediate layer between two layers of stacked goods during loading of the pallet, wherein the marking element is fastened to the intermediate layer by a positive connection created by deforming the intermediate layer and the marking element without using any connecting means.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the positive connection is produced by pressing or crimping the marking element with the intermediate layer.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the marking element is fastened to the intermediate layer situated in a middle region in the ready stacked pallet in a height direction.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the marking element is fastened to the intermediate layer before the intermediate layer is introduced between two layers of stacked goods on the pallet.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the marking element is removed singly by a withdrawal device from a stack of marking elements provided with corresponding information and fed for fastening to the intermediate layer.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least two marking elements are fastened to a pallet being marked, information of the pallet being marked being accessible from different sides of the pallet.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the at least two marking elements are fastened to different sides of the same intermediate layer.
 8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: deforming the marking element after being fastened to the intermediate layer such that the marking element lies substantially perpendicular against a corresponding side surface of the pallet when the intermediate layer has been introduced into the pallet.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the marking element is provided with the information for the specific pallet being marked just prior to its attachment and is removed by a withdrawal device directly from the exit chute of the mechanism providing the marking element with the appropriate information and fed to the intermediate layer for attachment.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the marking element is a paperlike element and the mechanism placing the information on the marking element is a printer.
 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein if the stacked goods are flat pieces of material, a sample of the stacked goods is used as the marking element.
 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein if the stacked goods are flat pieces of material, a sample of the stacked goods is fastened in addition to the marking element to the intermediate layer, and the fastening of the sample occurs analogous to the fastening of the marking element.
 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein a positive connection is produced between the intermediate layer and the marking element at least at two positions spaced apart from each other.
 14. A device for the marking of a pallet loaded with stacked goods, wherein at least one marking element having information relevant to the marking is fastened to an intermediate layer, which is introduced between two layers of stacked goods during the loading of the pallet, the device comprising: fastening means for fastening the marking element to the intermediate layer by a positive connection created by deforming the intermediate layer and the marking element without using any connecting means.
 15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the fastening means comprises at least one crimping pliers.
 16. The device according to claim 14, wherein the fastening means are pneumatically operated.
 17. The device according to claim 14, further comprising: at least one magazine, in which marking elements provided with the corresponding information are made ready in a stack, and a withdrawal device, being configured to remove a single marking element from the magazine and feed the single marking element for fastening to the intermediate layer.
 18. The device according to claim 14, further comprising: a mechanism providing the particular marking element with the appropriate information for the specific pallet being marked and a withdrawal device, configured to remove the marking element directly from the exit chute of the mechanism providing the marking element with the appropriate information and feed the marking element to the intermediate layer.
 19. The device according to claim 18, wherein a printer is used as the mechanism to place the corresponding information on the marking element, when the marking element is a paperlike element in sheet form.
 20. Device The device according to claim 14, further comprising: a feeding mechanism to guide the particular intermediate layer to a defined marking position.
 21. The device according to claim 20, wherein the feeding mechanism (9, 14) is formed from the transport device (9) laying the intermediate layer (8) on the pallet (5) at the palletting position (P) and two guide elements (14) spaced apart and converging in the direction of the marking position (K).
 22. A palletting cell for the palletting of stacked goods on a pallet, wherein the palletting cell has a device according to claim 14 for marking the pallets within the palletting cell. 